Proverbs 14:27
in Proverbs 14The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, That one may depart from the snares of death.
KJV
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
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This verse in Proverbs 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, etc. This then is the hope of those who fear the Lord, that turning away from the ruin of death, they may merit to come to Him who says, I am the way, and the …
This site's exposition
He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence
on Proverbs 14:26-27
The fear of the Lord returns as the book's motto, given its reward: strong confidence and a place of refuge. It is a fountain of life, drawing a man from the snares of death. Bridges reads the two verses as one promise stated twice, as shelter and then as escape.
This site's exposition
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life
The verse repeats 13:14, the fear of the LORD standing where the teaching of the wise stood. Adam Clarke gives the Hebrew as mekor chaiyim, the vein of lives, and hears in it the artery that carries blood from the heart. Both sayings end at the snares of death.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
And Solomon in Proverbs: "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that they may turn aside from the ruin of death." If you do not fear God, you have lost grace, you have lost justice, and you have lost true wisdom.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life - מקור חיים mekor chaiyim, the vein of lives. Another allusion to the great aorta which carries the blood from the heart to all the extremities of the body. Of this phrase, and the tree of lives, Solomon is particularly fond. See on Pro 4:23 (note); Pro 10:12 (note).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See the marginal reference and Pro 10:11 note.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִרְאַ֣ת | yirat | [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְק֣וֹר | mekor | [is] a fountain of | H4726 → | 18 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| לָ֝ס֗וּר | lasur | to turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי | mimokeshei | from [the] snares of | H4170 → | 27 times |
| מָֽוֶת׃ | mavet | death | H4194 → | 156 times |
יִרְאַ֣ת[the] fear of
yiratH3374 →45 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְק֣וֹר[is] a fountain of
mekorH4726 →18 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
לָ֝ס֗וּרto turn aside
lasurH5493 →299 times
מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁיfrom [the] snares of
mimokesheiH4170 →27 times
מָֽוֶת׃death
mavetH4194 →156 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:6And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
it leads to
- John 7:37–38
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- John 4:10
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Psalms 36:9
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.
- John 7:37–38
Through
Isaiah 33:6He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.
it leads to
- Psalms 112:1–3
Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.
- Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.
- Psalms 112:1–3
Through
Proverbs 22:5Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:17
The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:17
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
